Dr Sarah Spain was previously a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, having originally joined the publication under the auspices of its writing scheme. She is a postdoctoral researcher in applied statistical genetics at King's College London's Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, where her research focuses on the determination of genetic risk factors for complex inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease, psoriasis and asthma. Previously she studied Molecular Biology at the University of Kent, then spent two years working in finance. She went on to obtain an MSc in Medical Molecular Biology at the University of Westminster, and a Cancer Research UK supported PhD at University College London, where she worked with Professor Ian Tomlinson on genetic susceptibility to bowel cancer. She is particularly interested in human genetic variation and the genetics of complex diseases.
BRCA1 mutations put carriers at high risk of cancer by failing to protect cells against the effects of high levels of oestrogen hormone found in breast and ovary tissue, researchers have established...
Two recent studies have shown how treatments for lung cancer can be tailored to a tumour's genetic make-up, which may ultimately improve existing treatments or even help to identify new ones...
A team of researchers has comprehensively charted the genetic 'signatures' of processes that drive tumour development for the first time...
The US Supreme Court has unanimously rejected a number of patent claims made by Myriad Genetics on isolated forms of two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2, associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer....
Testing children with asthma for a variant in the beta-2 receptor gene may help clinicians determine the most suitable medication, especially in children who respond poorly to standard treatment...
US researchers have identified a genetic mutation responsible for the hearing loss that occurs with the condition Usher syndrome type I...
In the latest instalment of a highly contested case, the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington DC upheld Myriad Genetics' right to patent two genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2,which are associated with the risk of breast and ovarian cancer....
The 1000 Genomes Project, an initiative to sequence the genetic code of 2,500 people across five continents, has now successfully sequenced over 1,000 people's genomes...
For the first time, researchers in the USA have calculated cumulative success rates of infertility treatments that use IVF or assisted reproductive technologies (ART), and have showed that overall success rates come close to that of natural conception....
The US Supreme Court has ordered that the two gene patents held by Myriad Genetics be sent back to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, to be re-examined...
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